Workpackage 1 - Understanding Older People's Needs from AAL
Lead Investigator: Louise Nygard (Sweden)
Team Members: Arlene Astell (St. Andrews), Andrew Sixsmith (SFU), Alex Mihailidis (TRI)
Collaborators: Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)
The starting point as well as the purpose of this collaborative research is identifying and meeting potential needs in older adults with MCI through the development of AAL-support systems. If a piece of AAL technology is to be integrated by an older adult, it has to be useful for particular purposes in specified daily life activities. We expect the end-users (older adults with MCI and their families and support networks) to identify individual needs for support in a range of activities and contexts related to managing everyday life and cognitive stimulation.
Objectives
The general aim of the research in this WP is to identify the requirements and needs of older adults with MCI from AAL-based applications, plus those of their significant others, family members, and caregivers plus any cultural or national differences in these needs.
The specific objectives are:
(i) to create a visual, comprehensive model describing potential users’ needs of AAL-support and to identify potential limitations and gaps in existing knowledge
(ii) to identify user requirements; i.e. creating requirement specifications on technology for a selection of specific case scenarios (overlaps with other WPs).
(iii) to develop use-cases where the requirements on technology of users are met by detailed descriptions of how a technological solution will interact with the end-user (overlaps with other WPs).
Deliverables
Outcomes will, on the one hand, be identification of potential users’ needs for AAL, and their prerequisites and requirements, i.e. facilitators and barriers for AAL utilization in these populations and contexts, and on the other, scenarios and use cases that describe situations and potential technological solutions for development in WP2. All these outcomes will also be made available to other researchers in this field. The users will be involved in a process of iterative prototyping in WP2, and in pilot testing the system in WP3. Outcomes will be validated through user requirements and testing reports.
The deliverables planned are:
(i) An evidence based Scoping Review of the state of the art concerning the knowledge and issues related to potential users’ needs in the area and to identify potential limitations and gaps in these
(ii) A comprehensive model of user needs developed by drawing on the information from the scoping review, i.e. a graphical representation of user needs, comprising key concepts and their
interrelationships and taking contextual stability and variation into account
(iii) Requirement specifications on technology for a selection of specific case scenarios related to user needs
(iv) Use-cases based on scenarios, describing how a technological solution will interact with the end-user (to be developed and evaluated in WP2 and WP3)
Innovation
This work package will deliver new knowledge about what older adult with MCI need from AAL-support in different contexts, and a better understanding of what kind of needs can be met/solved by technological support. Furthermore, the modeling approach will result in a comprehensive, visual representation that allows further development and application in different contexts—e.g. requirement specifications that are developed based on users’ requirements of specific products can be developed further to guide the development of other products. Finally, the modeling approach will also allow and guide necessary adaptations required of the AAL to respond when older adults without cognitive impairment start to demonstrate signs of cognitive decline.
Team Members: Arlene Astell (St. Andrews), Andrew Sixsmith (SFU), Alex Mihailidis (TRI)
Collaborators: Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)
The starting point as well as the purpose of this collaborative research is identifying and meeting potential needs in older adults with MCI through the development of AAL-support systems. If a piece of AAL technology is to be integrated by an older adult, it has to be useful for particular purposes in specified daily life activities. We expect the end-users (older adults with MCI and their families and support networks) to identify individual needs for support in a range of activities and contexts related to managing everyday life and cognitive stimulation.
Objectives
The general aim of the research in this WP is to identify the requirements and needs of older adults with MCI from AAL-based applications, plus those of their significant others, family members, and caregivers plus any cultural or national differences in these needs.
The specific objectives are:
(i) to create a visual, comprehensive model describing potential users’ needs of AAL-support and to identify potential limitations and gaps in existing knowledge
(ii) to identify user requirements; i.e. creating requirement specifications on technology for a selection of specific case scenarios (overlaps with other WPs).
(iii) to develop use-cases where the requirements on technology of users are met by detailed descriptions of how a technological solution will interact with the end-user (overlaps with other WPs).
Deliverables
Outcomes will, on the one hand, be identification of potential users’ needs for AAL, and their prerequisites and requirements, i.e. facilitators and barriers for AAL utilization in these populations and contexts, and on the other, scenarios and use cases that describe situations and potential technological solutions for development in WP2. All these outcomes will also be made available to other researchers in this field. The users will be involved in a process of iterative prototyping in WP2, and in pilot testing the system in WP3. Outcomes will be validated through user requirements and testing reports.
The deliverables planned are:
(i) An evidence based Scoping Review of the state of the art concerning the knowledge and issues related to potential users’ needs in the area and to identify potential limitations and gaps in these
(ii) A comprehensive model of user needs developed by drawing on the information from the scoping review, i.e. a graphical representation of user needs, comprising key concepts and their
interrelationships and taking contextual stability and variation into account
(iii) Requirement specifications on technology for a selection of specific case scenarios related to user needs
(iv) Use-cases based on scenarios, describing how a technological solution will interact with the end-user (to be developed and evaluated in WP2 and WP3)
Innovation
This work package will deliver new knowledge about what older adult with MCI need from AAL-support in different contexts, and a better understanding of what kind of needs can be met/solved by technological support. Furthermore, the modeling approach will result in a comprehensive, visual representation that allows further development and application in different contexts—e.g. requirement specifications that are developed based on users’ requirements of specific products can be developed further to guide the development of other products. Finally, the modeling approach will also allow and guide necessary adaptations required of the AAL to respond when older adults without cognitive impairment start to demonstrate signs of cognitive decline.